The idea of transferring another person’s hair follicles to a patient with male pattern baldness seems to be an attractive idea. However, is this possible at this point?

There are patients who have had multiple hair transplants done and wondering whether they could ask a third party donor like a family member, relatives, or friend to donate some hair follicles for the procedure. Sounds like a feasible idea, right?

Hair Transplant Works Like Organ Transplants – DNA Should Match

Well, a hair transplant that comes from a third party donor is not an easy process. You must understand that hair transplants from another person involve the process of tissue transfer. 

Now, if the donor and the recipient do not match in DNA tissue, then the body will just reject the tissue grafts, and there would be no successful hair regrowth. However, the only way to have an exact DNA match is if you have an identical twin.

This works pretty much the same way with organ donations. Before you can donate a body organ, your Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) type must match. Your immune system would reject anything that it detects as a foreign body. That’s why some transplants become successful, and others become a disaster.

Can You Get a Hair Transplant from a Third Party Donor – Potentials and Risks

At this point in time, third party donation of hair follicles isn’t possible yet. For now, you are basically stuck with your own hair follicles. You have to make do of what you have. 

If you have had multiple hair transplants done, there would still be enough hair for you to have more hair transplant sessions done without having to contemplate the idea of having third party donors for hair transplant. Your surgeon can also opt to use body hairs if there isn’t enough on your head.

Your body’s immune defences will automatically reject anything that is foreign or does not have your DNA. This applies to all kinds of transplants, may it be a heart, liver, or hair. The body would sense danger and threat, so it would attack the foreign body to expel it completely from the system.

So, if you have had a hair transplant done from a third party donor, the hair will just fall off, and you just wasted time and money on the procedure. Yes, it’s very frustrating, but that’s just how it is.

There is another way, though. One option is to use anti-rejection drugs so that your body will not reject the hair or organ transplants. However, you would need to take these immunosuppressant drugs for life.

These anti-rejection drugs have some serious side effects or associated risks.  That’s basically the reason why such a procedure is only approved by surgeons for life or death scenarios. Sadly, hair loss doesn’t qualify in that situation.

Suffering from hair loss or male pattern baldness isn’t an easy ordeal. Many people deal with it in different ways. Having a hair transplant from a third party donor may not be possible at this time – but the rate of potential keeps getting stronger with the advancement of hair transplant procedures today and in the future.